A Venture in Africa


Book Description

This is a vivid personal history of an international business career. "A Venture in Africa" takes the reader through the twists and turns of doing business with African states and leaders in the turbulent 1970s and later. Drawing on his long experience of modern Africa and international business, Sardanis portrays the crises, disasters and personalities he has encountered in the continent. He shows how the old Africa of corruption, despotism and nepotism is being replaced by a new Africa in which a rising generation of business leaders is emerging - with practical technical and professional skills and free from the post-colonial mentality. A hugely intriguing and entertaining story which shows that Africa, despite the bad press, presents an immensely important and a rich source of commercial opportunities for the successful businessman.







A Venture in Africa


Book Description




Investing in Africa


Book Description

"What a great economic tour of Africa! Provides a top-down understanding of Africa's financial opportunities and a bottoms-up view for investing." - William T. Comfort, Chairman, Citibank Venture Capital, Ltd. "Long overdue! Finally, we have a comprehensive and insightful view of the stock of the stock market investment opportunities in Africa. Yes, 'Tarzan does not live here anymore!' and this book explores the ultimate emerging market with the potential for outstanding investment returns. The book is well organized and gives readers a complete picture of not only all the stock markets in Africa, but also the economic and political background of this exciting area. Case studies and investment examples provide the reader with a realistic view of investing in Africa." - Mark Mobius, President, Templeton Emerging Markets Fund Vastly promising financial opportunities await savvy investors in twenty-first-century Africa. After decades of successful returns for U.S. multinationals from Coca-Cola to Citigroup to Microsoft to McDonald's. Africa has evolved as the birthplace of more new stock markets than any other part of the world. This authoritative guide provides institutional and sophisticated individual investors with a complete, insider's view of the markets, and: * Debunks common misconceptions about Africa and explains why it is the ultimate emerging market * Explains the driving force behind the African economy * Pinpoints available investment vehicles and resources * Weighs the potential risks and rewards for U.S. investors Written by two experts in the field, Investing in Africa contains information on everything from the least known investment opportunities to the world's most recent top performing stock markets--all found within this rapidly evolving, richly promising continent.




Entrepreneurship in Africa


Book Description

It is now widely recognized that in regions like Africa, for economic and other reasons, the public sector has had to disengage and divest from many areas of the economy and allow private enterprise, especially scalable start-ups and new ventures, to enter and flourish if economic development and employment are to grow. There is, however, a training and education gap since entrepreneurship is rarely taught formally at African universities and, when it is, it is often approached from a Western perspective which may not be appropriate given that African environments are significantly different from most Western ones in terms of economic infrastructure and political considerations. This book allows readers to understand the African entrepreneurial context by guiding them through the principal stages in the life of a new venture, and offers approaches, both Western and indigenous, that can inform their entrepreneurial actions. It concludes by examining some specialized topics, including female, youth, and social entrepreneurship, as well as real estate and technology. Exercises throughout the book will enable readers to evaluate their motivations and preparedness for entrepreneurship and learn how to communicate a new venture’s key features to potential stakeholders. By focusing on the distinctive features of entrepreneurship in the African context, and taking a conversational tone, this is an informative and practical text that will be useful for students of Global Entrepreneurship and Business as well as actual and prospective entrepreneurs in the private, non-profit, and public sectors.




Cultural Entrepreneurship in Africa


Book Description

This book seeks to widen perspectives on entrepreneurship by drawing attention to the diverse and partly new forms of entrepreneurial practice in Africa since the 1990s. Contrary to widespread assertions, figures of success have been regularly observed in Africa since pre-colonial times. The contributions account for these historical continuities in entrepreneurship, and identify the specifically new political and economic context within which individuals currently probe and invent novel forms of enterprise. Based on ethnographically contextualized life stories and case studies of female and male entrepreneurs, the volume offers a vivid and multi-perspectival account of their strategies, visions and ventures in domains as varied as religious proselytism, politics, tourism, media, music, prostitution, funeral organization, and education. African cultural entrepreneurs have a significant economic impact, attract the attention of large groups of people, serve as role models for many youths, and contribute to the formation of new popular cultures.




How We Made It in Africa


Book Description

From the founder of the award-winning website (www.howwemadeitinafrica.com) comes the stories of 25 entrepreneurs who''ve built thriving businesses. * Be inspired by the experiences of Africa''s most dynamic entrepreneurs * Gain insight into the continent''s business opportunities * Find the courage to make your own dreams and ambitions become a reality Discover why Ken Njoroge is building a billion-dollar pan-African digital payments company (it is not because he wants to drive a Ferrari); Find out how Jean de Dieu Kagabo grew a Rwanda-based industrial group from a simple product: toilet paper; And be inspired by the extraordinary tale of Hassan Bashir who created a booming insurance company from nothing but grit and persistence. Each entrepreneur''s story is told in an honest manner, not shying away from the mistakes made and the considerable hurdles they had to overcome. And there were many tough times: from being betrayed by long-time senior managers to losing vast sums of money because of poor market research. Pursuing their business ambitions also had a toll on their personal lives: one entrepreneur was too broke to afford diapers for his baby, while another had to sell her house to keep the company alive. MEET THE ENTREPRENEURS 1. Ken Njoroge (Kenya): The long, hard journey to build a billion-dollar company 2. Tseday Asrat (Ethiopia): A modern twist on Ethiopia''s coffee culture 3. Tumi Phake (South Africa): Flexing his entrepreneurial muscles to exploit a gap in the fitness industry 4. Monica Musonda (Zambia): Instant noodle pioneer 5. Hassan Bashir (Kenya): An insurance firm created from nothing but grit and persistence 6. Ebele Enunwa (Nigeria): A $50-million food and retail empire 7. Tayo Oviosu (Nigeria): The entrepreneur who traded in his Silicon Valley life to bring mobile money to Nigerians 8. Navalayo Osembo (Kenya): How to make a Kenyan running shoe 9. Jean de Dieu Kagabo (Rwanda): Rwandan industrialist always hunting for the next big business idea 10. Addis Alemayehou (Ethiopia): Serial entrepreneur bringing the world to Ethiopia 11. Kasope Ladipo-Ajai (Nigeria): Nigerian cooking made convenient 12. Chijioke Dozie (Nigeria): Leveraging past experiences to disrupt the banking industry 13. Sylvester Chauke (South Africa): Marketer with a passion to take African brands global 14. Yoadan Tilahun (Ethiopia): Showing Ethiopia how to throw an event 15. Mossadeck Bally (Mali): West African hotel group built on an appetite for risk 16. Jennifer Bash (Tanzania): Adding value to everyday staples 17. Jesse Moore (Kenya): Thinking out of the box to power over 600 000 homes with solar energy 18. Twapewa Kadhikwa (Namibia): How one hair salon became a group of companies 19. Jacques de Vos (South Africa): Growing a high-impact tech business one problem statement at a time 20. Nana Akua Birmeh (Ghana): Architect breaking glass ceilings 21. Nelly Tuikong (Kenya): Kenyan beauty brand taking on global giants 22. Dr Hend El Sherbini (Egypt): From a small Egyptian family business to a London-listed healthcare giant 23. NJ Ayuk (Cameroon): A lawyer on the road less travelled 24. Polo Leteka (South Africa): The investor who spots opportunity where others see risk 25. Ashley Uys (South Africa): Diagnostic hustler ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jaco Maritz is CEO of Maritz Africa, publisher of the award-winning pan-African online business publication How we made it in Africa. Jaco holds a BA in Information Science from USB. He started his career at South African media company Media24, working on the websites of some of the country''s most well-known newspapers. He went on to become editor of TradeInvestNigeria, after which he founded Maritz Africa. When not building Maritz Africa, Jaco enjoys investing in other businesses. He is a regular speaker on business in Africa.




The Next Africa


Book Description

The Next Africa, an Axiom Best Business Book Award winner, will change the way people think about the continent. The old narrative of an Africa disconnected from the global economy, depicted by conflict or corruption, and heavily dependent on outside donors is fading. A wave of transformation driven by business, modernization, and a new cadre of remarkably talented Africans is thrusting the continent from the world's margins to the global mainstream. In the coming decades the magnitude of Africa's markets and rising influence of its people will intersect with other key trends to shape a new era, one in which Africa's progress finally overshadows its challenges, transforming an emerging continent into a global powerhouse. The Next Africa captures this story. Authors Jake Bright and Aubrey Hruby pair their collective decades of Africa experience with several years of direct research and interviews. Packed with profiles; personal stories, research and analysis, The Next Africa is a paradigm-shifting guide to the events, trends, and people reshaping Africa's relationship to the world. Bright and Hruby detail the cross-cutting trends prompting Silicon Valley venture capital funds and firms like GE, IBM, and Proctor & Gamble to make major investments in African economies, while describing how Africans are stimulating Milan runways, Hollywood studios, and London pop charts. The Next Africa introduces readers to the continent's burgeoning technology movement, rising entrepreneurs, groundbreaking philanthropists, and cultural innovators making an impact in music, fashion, and film. Bright and Hruby also connect Africa's transformation to its contemporary immigrant diaspora, illustrating how this increasingly affluent group will serve as the thread that pulls the continent's success together. Finally, The Next Africa suggests a fresh framework for global citizens, public policy-makers, and CEOs to approach Africa. It will no longer be "The Hopeless Continent", nor will it become an overnight utopia. Bright and Hruby offer a more nuanced, net-sum, and data-rich approach to analyzing an increasingly complex continent, reconciling its continued challenges with rapid progress. The Next Africa describes a future of a more globally-connected Africa where its leaders and citizens wield significant economic, cultural, and political power--a future in which Americans will be more likely to own African stocks, work for companies doing business in Africa, buy African hits from iTunes, see Nigerian actors win Oscars, and learn new African names connected to tech moguls and billionaires.




A Narrative of the Life and Adventure of Venture


Book Description

A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture (1798) is an autobiography by Venture Smith. Written while Smith was living in freedom on his own farm in Connecticut, A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture is recognized by scholars as a pioneering work of African American nonfiction and one of the earliest known slave narratives in American history. Born the son of Saugnm Furro, a prince of Dukandarra, Smith was captured as a boy and sold into slavery on the Gold Coast of Africa. Brought to Barbados by way of the Middle Passage, Smith was eventually sold to Robinson Mumford, a landowner from Rhode Island. Upon arrival in the British colony, Smith was put to work in the Mumford household, gaining the trust of his enslaver while enduring the abuses of Mumford’s young son. At 22, he married Meg, a fellow enslaved woman, and was soon swept up in an escape attempt with an Irish indentured servant. Betrayed at Montauk Point by the Irishman, Smith was forced to capture him and return to Rhode Island, where he was sold to Thomas Stanton in Connecticut. Separated from his wife and daughter, subjected to worse abuses than before, Smith sought to gain his freedom by any means necessary. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Venture Smith’s A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture is a classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.




In Pursuit


Book Description

In Pursuit - Journeys in African Entrepreneurship chronicles the journeys of two friends whose experiences in America shaped their approach to starting their own businesses in Nigeria. Drawing on their experiences of working, building and supporting business, and exposure to multimillion-dollar projects around the world, they uncover what it takes to own, run, and grow a profitable business. Through their personal insights, they relay information relevant not only to entrepreneurs and investors seeking to do business in Nigeria, but anywhere on the globe--after all, the heart of business is human interaction. Their conversational banter-jab style, for which they're known in person and on social media, invites readers into their circle where they can share the wisdom gained through continuous pursuits to fulfill their dreams. Business and life intersect. No matter your goal, you're not crazy, and no, you're not alone! Through In Pursuit, two Bendel boys invite you to laugh, yell, and reflect, as they converse from head and heart.